So this is the revelation I received this morning.

I need to live below my means. LOL I know. Duh, right? However its so depressing living below your means. For example if I make 40,000 I should really be living on 30,000. Why? Because:

1) if I'm really making 40,000 a year, I'm only actually bring home about 30,000 after taxes. its the net not the gross that you have free to spend.

2) uncle Sam thinks anyone without children or a spouse make too much and should pay more taxes than everyone else. So whether I claim 0 and pay the piper all year and look for my big break in April or if I cheat a little during the year, claim 1 and pay at the end, Sam still gets his cut either way.

3) I want to leave an inheritance for my nieces and nephews. Instead of leaving debt, I want to leave a trust and let them live off the fat of the land. Teach them how to manage money at an early age, develop business skills, and encourage them to look beyond their immediate pockets and into the future bank rolls they could hold, companies they could own, land, and royalties earned without working. I saw a show called "The fabulous life of young hot Royalty". There's a family in Germany who is simply rich just because their ancestors were postal workers.

Take 22-year-old Prince Albert Von Thurn Und Taxis. He's heir to a powerful German Dynasty credited with modernizing what we know of as today's postal system. When he turned 18 he inherited one of Europe's largest fortunes and is now worth $2 billion dollars-- making him the youngest billionaire in the world. Oh and the massive 500 room German palace he grew up in? That belongs to him too.

So I'm thinking, I'm not going to invent anything anytime soon so how can I work on leaving an inheritance and not an inherited debt. I must first get out of debt and live below my means so that I can store up funds to buy land, real estate, and start a business. Then I can work on my plan for inheritance building.

4) by watching and hearing various stories of white people, people from India, Mexicans, etc Black people are the only people who do not help one another, who spend more than they make, who buy to impress their neighbors and friends while stockpiling bills, who buy a car they cannot afford while living in an apartment more lavish than the house they should be buying, etc. Because we are so depressed from living on the bottom, being born on the bottom, starting out on the bottom, that when we see light, get a good job, find a piece of money, the first thing we do is spend it and worry about the bills later. I have been spending every penny to the max, not leaving room for mishaps, uncontrolled circumstances, no money in the bank at the end of the month, stretching dollars until they break and cant be sown back together. Living on your own, being independent does not mean asking mom, dad, and uncle for handouts every time I get in a jam. I do not believe it is the White man keeping us down. I believe their are enough intelligent black people to start their own business, hire and fire people, produce a good product, provide quality service, and be prosperous beyond the status quo diddy understands this and he has no talent whatsoever, but he has made his ability to bs and hustle his cash cow. J understands this and so does T.I. and 50 cent. They all came from nothing, out the hood, did their dirt, and saw a way to turn that dirt making ability into an empire. I know this is a far stretch and they are talented rappers but they have other business ventures that are working for them making money when they are doing nothing. How dumb can that be? Not that celebrity success is the basis of my whole philosophy but it has its place.

5) I am tired of living pitiful enjoying a little now and trying to figure out the rest later.

There's more to my ah ha moment but i'm tired of typing, i know you're tired of reading, and I'm distracted anyway LOL my attention has moved on to something else. But I thought I'd share in my revelation which I prayed for when asking God what I should do about my apartment situation. And believe it or not, he actually gave me an answer LOL !


**this was written may 27, 2010 hanging out in my drafts so i figured i'd finally post it.**

2009

This was my talented friend's end of year poem. it sums up how she's feeling about 09 and what she's looking forward to in 2010. Love it! She's a great poet! Please don't steal any parts of this poem. She is founder and owner of YUR Magazine, an online urban entertainment/informational magazine. She has big things coming soon and very soon. The Lord is watching and taking notes. Be Blessed! Enjoy.


2009

Arriving in a chariot pulled by horses of promise,

promise of wealth, good health and a long awaited success,

each New Years Eve praying the same prayer and making the same proclamation.



This is My Year, last year almost took me out but this is the year.

365 days lead to 10 years.

10 years, 3 months and 20 days later of the same proclamation,

now anger and discouragement sets in,

bitterness towards “passa” for saying your change is gonna come.

Well my change has been coming since Sam Cooke bellowed those notes.



A degree, house, 3 cars and 3 death certificates later,

feeling as stable as a mobile home on a vault line in Cali .

Heart been broken so much from disappointment that its consistency can be sifted like sand be the sea shore.



Perfectly wearing that smile written about by Hughes,

faking the funk so much that even I began to believe the lies that rolls so sweetly off the tongue,

fooling surface friends and concerning those who know me too well,

unaware of the rise and fall of the sun and moon,

stars go unnoticed,

even the trees and flowers are ignored for more important things like

bills and bill collectors

late mortgages,

and notes that were not left by ones of unconditional love,

shivering with fear at the buzz of the phone,

buckling at the knees with the open of mail stamped with last notice.



You see it was divine in 05, fixed in 06, clever in 07, late 08, left behind in 09 and now we stand at the threshold on twenty ten

baggage in tow

every dream, vision, and promise

tucked neatly in K Mart luggage awaiting for it’s time of exposure to light

shaking with anticipation of manifestation



I feel like a soldier

battle scars and war wounds

memories of yesterday haunting me,

got people in my ear telling me to forget about it and

focus on a brand new tomorrow.



The day I had to pick up 3 death certificates, were once tomorrows



brand new tomorrows



As I take one step to the door of 2010 and reflect on 2009

I can’t help but remember soulful songs that pricked my heart and drew tears of happiness,

words of poetry from the lips of homeland soldiers in community trenches that

spiritually see the bright future of a discarded generation.

familiar gestures of kindness acted out towards a stranger,

friendships bonded,

and blessings of the Almighty coming forth from unfertile stones.



As I enter into 2010 I can’t help but awaken and shake my faith,

the size of a mustard seed but has the power of an unseen yet Powerful God,



As I move into a new decade,

I feel grateful for second chances,

thankful for joy, peace, protection and favor,

all of that overriding past hurts,



I am here

now

here

present

alive

here

walking

here

breathing

here

alert

here

I step forth

take another step

and another

and await for the new chapter to unfold.

-----LaToyur S. Tisdale

Email repost: 2010 Handbook

This has been going around in emails since forever. It's pretty good so thought I'd post it hear for safe keeping and clear my email :-)

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile..

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control.. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree....

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy

HAPPY NEW YEAR

So what is my mood for the end of 2009? Do I feel accomplished as far as my goals? Yes. I have done or at least attempted most of the things I set out to do this year. I know there's a list around here somewhere. I just have to make and effort to locate it :-) It's probably on my pc. That sounds technical and practical of me.

What's new for 2010?

1/2 marathon

loose 20 pounds

tighten up body

smile more (thats always on my list)

prep for phd program 2011

read the word more

completely read bookclub selections

no sex ( think last time was june 09)

no more irrelevant relationships just to be with someone

drink more ...just kiddin

cook a new dish a month

buy a house

create and live on budget

develop yur teen nonprofit

less timewasting net browsing

less non-work related net browsing

this list is around somewhere as well. there are many more ideas to list. but thats about all i can think of at the moment. what are yours? the most significant ones. ones that are so important to you that you have already started working on them as early as october or november maybe.